App Review: Marvel Contest of Champions

Contest of Champions, Marvel’s answer to the success of the DC Comics’ video game Injustice, is available on all iOS and Android devices and features a vast selection of classic superheros and villains that is guaranteed to keep you occupied for hours on end.

The game starts you off with a “one-star” Marvel superhero as you slowly work your way through quests to unlock new characters and power-ups using crystals acquired through missions. Next, you can upgrade your posse using energy you pick up along your quests.

Once you get the hang of things, you can also pit your entourage of Marvel’s finest up against opponents online. This will also help you unlock catalyst power-ups that can help you increase a characters abilities.

Overall, the design isn’t quite as dark or as graphics-heavy as Injustice and the gameplay tends to give off a more Street Fighter-type of vibe.

What I am most displeased to see is how hard Marvel is pushing the in-app purchase function. As a fan of free games, I enjoy the effort one must put in to unlock more features. It makes it more difficult to progress in the game. By making you pay, the game defeats the challenge. While it would be nice to not have to constantly be hit up for money, if the developer were to make it pay-to-play app, far less people would be flooding the internet with their favorite Marvel characters.

To find out more about Contest of Champions, visit playcontestofchampions.com or search for it on Google Play and the Apple Store.